Oberon Theatre Ensemble has established a proud tradition of staged readings of original plays, dating from our very first year. Here are some of the plays we have read.
IN PHOTO LT-RT: Brad Fryman, Nance Williamson, Steven Fechter (Playwright), Terry O’Brien (Director), Vernice Miller, Kurt Rhoads
THE MEMORY EXAM
Four people in their autumn years meet in a forest. One has been hired to coach the others to pass the Memory Exam. Failure is fatal. The biggest obstacle is that their ability to remember has faded. However, the coach has a system. It all depends on how well they can recall their most enduring memory.
ORSON'S SHADOW - A VIRTUALLY STAGED READING
Written by Austin Pendleton
Directed by Mark Karafin
Production Design and Editing by Ryan Tramont
Starring:
Ted Koch as..............................Ken Tynan
Sean Hoagland as....................Sean
Brad Fryman as .......................Orson Welles
Ryan Tramont as......................Larry Olivier
Darcie Siciliano as ..................Joan Plowright
Maryann Towne as...................Vivien Leigh
Maryann Towne (top), (LT-RT) Ted Koch, Brad Fryman and Sean Hoagland
T-B, LT-RT: Ryan Tramont, Darcie Siciliano, Sean Hoagland, Brad Fryman, and Ted Koch
We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions: ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS, AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS, SAG-AFTRA, through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program.
Lee Blessing's FOR THE LOYAL
Directed by Ivette Dumeng
For The Loyal delves deeply into our psyches and how we handle ourselves when we are unwittingly thrust into a scandal. What do we do when it is our colleagues and friends that have done such terrible things?
Featuring: William Laney, Brad Fryman, Bryan Hamilton, Christine Toth, and Skyler Gallun
Michael Weller's THE HEART OF ART
Directed by Terrence O'Brien
The Heart of Art is a hilarious, biting satire of a playwright's journey and megalomania in New York Theatre.
Pictured LT-RT: Marc Baron, Austin Dean Lucas, Earl Hugens,
Brad Fryman, Barbra Wengerd, Stewart Walker, Michael Weller,
Ryan Tramont, Erica Knight, Maryann Towne, Terrence Obrien,
James Rees, and Gabe Bettio
THE GIANT
Written by Christopher Stetson Boal
Directed by Mark Karafin
Stage Directions by Chris McFarland
With: Jane Cortney, Brad Fryman, Warren Katz, Lee Lawson, Ryan Tramont, and Jesse Wildman
Christopher Stetson Boal is a playwright and screenwriter. Off Broadway: Order (Oberon), 23 Knives (Resonance), Crazy for the Dog, Johnathan's Blaze (Summer Shorts). Off-Off: The Continuing Adventures of Dick Danger, Bad Guys Don't Know Dick, A Hope for this World, Waiting for the Two. Recently he wrote Caesar and The Vanguard for Warner Bros, Ghost Brigade for Paramount, Circus Maximus for Starz Network. He's currently writing Zorro for Sony pictures. Proud member of Oberon and Resonance Ensemble. This event was brought to us by EAG and Oberon Theatre.
EVERYBODY DIES by Molly Rydzel
Inspired by a story from Chuck Palahniuk, (author of Fight Club) as well as a generation of science fiction and B-movies. Everybody Dies takes place in a time when Charlton Heston rules and a worldwide suicide pact reaches its climax. Three sexy college kids face a decision—revolution, or die. Cast: Alec Shaw, Dianna Barger, Kiley McDonald, Christian Daly, Trevor Vaughn, Candice Palladino, Greer Gisy, Jesse Wildman, and J.J. Kandel.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Molly Rydzel Molly Rydzel is a Brooklyn based writer who specializes in composing thrillers and speculative fiction for the stage. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio but has been a proud NYC resident for the past decade. She holds a BFA in Theater with a minor in literature from The New School. Molly is responsible for the plays 'Certifiable'(FringeNYC 2013), 'How To Be Sexy' (Looking Glass Theatre), 'Cell #6' (Manhattan Repertory Theatre), and 'Erotomania' (MITF). She also penned the feminist web series 'The Dead Walk in Brooklyn'. She has had short stories published by Fiction365, Chrome Baby, and Short Fast and Deadly. On her days off from the theater revolution, Molly is Wine Director for a SoHo hotspot.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Krysta Hibbard Krysta Hibbard is acting COO of Silver Tower Productions, producing and developing original theatre in New York City as well as concerts and musical events. Krysta is also the project manager on two upcoming musicals, 'Boys Vs. Girls' and 'Whiskeyland'. Krysta's latest projects include Syndee Winters in 'Let Me Love You: A Concert Dedicated to Lena Horne' at The Cutting Room and 'Boys Vs. Girls' showcase this March.
CONTRAPASSO
By Sarah Ann Lawrence
Directed by Todd Conner
With: Laura Siner
Spend the evening at El Nuevo Manhattan, the hottest cantina in Tijuana. Meet Pedro, the helpful bartender and The Woman, our obliging hostess. Learn about her chilling fall from grace as wife, mother and respected attorney in New York. From her table in the Nuevo Manhattan, she completes her confessional. Her goal? To find a suitable partner to join her in a whirlwind tour of Tijuana’s tangled streets vaguely reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno. Will you be chosen? She invites you to confess, to repent, and perhaps find absolution.
THE TRAGEDY OF DANDELION
By Duncan Pflaster
Directed by Nate Terracio
With: Cotton Wright, Mary Sheridan, Jane Cortney, Susan Wallack, Nihara Nichelle, Leah Dietrich, Dianna Martin
The Princess Dandelion dresses as a boy in order to escape her rapist and would-be husband, along the way falling in love with another princess, and traveling through her society, meeting nuns, soldiers, and clowns, and all the time her pregnancy continues, the impending birth complicating everything. Written entirely in iambic pentameter, and full of Shakespearean tropes and double entendres, The Tragedy of Dandelion is written for an all-female cast.
ALL ALICES
By Penny Jackson
Directed by Diánna Martin
With: Laura Bozzone, Leah Dietrich, Mary Sheridan, Christine Verleny, Robert Shryock, Gabe Bettio, Stewart Walker, Walter Brandes, Anthony Russo
Jessica, a teenager working as an Alice at The White Queen restaurant, may lose her identity and even her sanity in a theme park devoted to Alice in Wonderland. Is Wonderland a place of fantasy and fun, or a darker place, on the wrong side of the looking glass, where all is illusion and danger?
SERPENT'S TOOTH
By Steven Fechter
With: Diana Martin, Jane Cortney, Dana Snyder, Mac Brydon, Stewart Walker, and Brad Fryman
Three married couples with teen-aged children arrive at a cabin in the Canadian wilderness for their vacation. Bad stuff happens.
THE PRETENTIOUS YOUNG LADIES
By Moliere
Directed by Nate Terracio
With: Zak Risinger, Walter Brandes, David Arthur Bachrach, Mac Brydon, Alexander Stine, Brian Linden, Mary Sheridan, Vaishnavi Sharma, Christine Verleny
LOOK AWAY LIFE
By Heather Dilly Sale
Directed by Alex Dinelaris
With: James Rees and Casandera Lollar
THEY HAVE OAK TREES IN NORTH CAROLINA
By Sarah Wooley
Directed by Brad Fryman
With: Lisa Bostnar, Steve Brady, and Mac Brydon
1985; Ray and Eileen's 5 year old son vanishes. 22 years later a good looking American arrives in their small English village claiming to be their boy.
THE WHISPERS OF SAINTS
By Mark Scharf
Directed by Walter Brandes
With: Karen Sternberg, Anne Fizzard, and Michael Wetherbee
FRONTIER
By Robin Rice Lichtig
Directed by Diánna Martin
Featuring: Walter Brandes, Brad Fryman, Nancy Georgini, Mary Sheridan, and Stewart Walker
AN IGNORANT MAN
By Richard Manley
Directed by Don Harvey
With: Dyanne Court, Simon Feil, Jacqueline Kroschell, Gabe Bettio, Mary Sheridan, John Edward Kelley
"An Ignorant Man" is a literate comedy. On the surface, it celebrates word play and the notion that even the intolerant need love. On a deeper level, however, it challenges the audience to think about the difference between mere conversation and true communication: the idea that language, when used by those who respect its potential, can be a force to inspire, provoke, and enchant.
THE GIANT
By Chris Boal
Director Mark Karafin
Christopher Boal's biting new comedy, the 2nd in the NY Trilogy, explores the wages of money, fame, family values and pets, as a fully dysfunctional theatrical family gather for a Christmas holiday meal.
GREGOR MENDEL
By KJ Crane
Directed by Gillian Riley
A brilliant monk, Gregor Mendel, acknowledged today as the Father of Genetics, challenges the narrow-minded, Darwin-infatuated scientific community of 19th Century Europe. Like his predecessor, Galileo, he single-handedly battles the encroachment of the State, and the intrigues, politics, and betrayals within his own monastery.
THE EMPRESS OF SEX
By Duncan Pflaster
Directed by Joan Kane
With: Walter Brandes, Clara Barton Green, Eric C. Bailey, Simon Feil, Jessica Vera, Zak Risinger, Eric Percival, Jeanine Bartel, Nicholas Santasier, Viet Vo, Laura Siner, William Allgood, Doug Rossi, Colin Chapin, Christine Seisler, Amada Anderson, Veronica Figueroa, Elaine Marlowe
A woman, spurned in love, finds a deserted island and sets herself up as The Empress Salacia, decreeing that there shall be no love allowed in her domain, only sex. She gathers some sybaritic acolytes, and all is frolicsome mindless fun until Salacia's ex-lover Agis comes to the island in disguise, to attempt to win her back.
FUN AND GAMES
By Joshua H. Cohen
Directed by Walter Brandes
SAMARITAN
By Lisa del Russo
Directed by Kathy Curtiss
With: Mac Brydon, Joy Farmer Clary, Jane Courtney, Brad Fryman, John Keating, Eileen Lacy, Laoisa Sexton
"Samaritan" is a drama set in 1980's London which explores the challenges of human intimacy and coping with life's vicissitudes. The well-meaning volunteers who answer troubled, lonely, and suicidal calls 24/7 are themselves in need of guidance and support. We're all desperately seeking real connections.
HOME FIRES BURNING
By Chris Ceraso
Directed by Dianna Martin
With: Brad Fryman, Laura Siner, Christine Verleny, Michael Wetherbee
A West Virginia coal miner hopes to have a second chance at life and love, but when his wayward son returns in the wake of his parents' divorce hellbent on saving his family, four lives are pushed to the edge. A play about tolerance, intolerance, love and hate in today's American heartland.
UNDERNEATH
By Rob Smith
Directed by Noah Himmelstein
Macie survived cancer at an early age with the support of her new husband, but when it returns a few years later, she desires one final wish. . . a one-night stand with a former lover. Is it an act of betrayal or an act of love?
The Fiend by Steven Fechter
The Proper Technique by Norman Beim
An Evening of Dating & Conspiracy: Five Short Plays by Walter Brandes
Tropical Heat by Rich Orloff
David's Play by Tom Rowan
Icarus Reaches by Scott Brooks
The Artifacts by Steven Fechter
Two One-Acts: Krueger and Dream House by Zach Calhoun
The Starship Astrov, by Duncan Pflaster
The Family Shakespeare, by David Stallings
Where Art Lives, Michael Thomas Cain
The Necessary Disposal, by Bob Ost
Cannibals Alone, by Steph DeFerie
Turn Around, Jimmy Booker, by Richard Alfredo
Insecurity! the Recession-Proof Musical, Music, Lyrics and Book by Mickey Zetts
The Harvesters & Paint, by Zack Calhoon
Keep On Truckin' - It's War! by Walter Brandes
Phaeton by Michael Milligan
Ampersand by David L. Williams
Ye Olde Madcap Inn by Lisa Ferber
Our Lady of Sandwich by Mario Baldessari & Keith Bridges
Pawn Shop Accordions by Jonathan Wallace
Wrestling the Alligator / Slots by Sergei Burbank
Teen Party Massacre the Musical by Justin R G Holcomb & John D. Ivy
A Thousand Variations on a Lie Told Once by Stacy Lane
Order by Chris Boal
Burglar of Suburbia by P. Seth Bauer
They Wrestled til Morning by Tony Giordano
Signs of Life by Debra Brevoort
There Are No Blue Flowers in the Tropics by Lannie Hill
The Court of Two Sisters by Whitney Hamilton
All Other Nights by Barry Brodsky
Feasting on Cardigans by Mark Eisman
Lost Children by Aurin Squire
Pound by Sean O'Leary
Goat by Arthur Kraft Thomasson
Such Stuff by Ruth Cantrell
Crazy for the Dog by Chris Boal
An Ode to Zeus by Stephen Peace
Objective: Find Love Find Love Find Love by Walter Brandes
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted by Denise Verrico
The Virgin and the Dynamo by Jerrell Nickerson
Famous for Fifteen Years by Jaime Pachino
Attempting Fate by Denise Verrico
The Thistle Dwellers by Whitney Hamilton
Dodge & Burn by Joe Schick
Ismay Sinks! by Donovan Johnson
I, Unseen by Marika Mashburn
Belles of the Mill by Rachel Rubin
Boswell on the Town adapted from Henry Fielding novel
Sky Fossils by Lisa Hamberton
The Tragedy of Frankenstein by William Gilmore
Union by Whitney Hamilton
Finding Louise by Donovan Johnson
Consumption by Bruce Cohen
Signs
Run, Run, From the Setting of the Sun by Doug Rutledge
Tainted Blood
Her Eyes Like Diamonds by Lannie Hill
The Kissing Wall by John Thornberry
Nine Monologues of Experience by Lannie Hill
Uncle Alton by Lannie Hill
The Twentieth Century by John Thornberry
Pieces of Seven by Donovan Johnson